THEORIES OF KARMA, DEATH AND ATMA KARMA THEORY
What is Karma? Karma is an activity, which all the human beings have to perform, until death releases them from this body prison. Man cannot live for a moment without doing Karma. Even while he is sleeping, the breathing process becomes his Karma. Karma is the cause of man's bondage to the cycle of birth and death. The life has been given to man to sort out the consequences of the previous Karma deliberately done, in many past lives, as well as in present life. Man cannot be liberated, until and unless he has sorted out and neutralized all effects of past and present Karma, and bringing the Karmic balance to nil. Many times Kriya (natural activity), is being considered as Karma. Kriya is a natural activity, which we perform in our day-to-day life, without thinking, questioning or seeking anybody's advice. If you get a nature's call, you would immediately run to the toilet, without thinking or consulting anybody. Every morning we get up, brush our teeth, take bath, wear clothes and go to work, or go to the garden, take some exercises, and do many more such acts. Such acts are known as Kriya. They do not bind us to the `Law of Karma'. Karma is the action or activity, deliberately done, with full knowledge and intention of the doer, and also in expectation of certain results in consequences thereof. This kind of Karma binds man to the causes and effects of the `Law of Karma'. There are three types of Karmas. Instant Karma, which brings instant result. (Such as when you slap someone in the face and he slaps you back, or you offer a glass of water to someone and somebody else offers you a glass of water. They are action and reaction is instantly neutralized leaving no balance behind). The Mass Karma (Natural calamities like a plane crash, train accidents, earthquake, floods or cyclone, etc.) and the Delayed Karma, which baffles the human beings most because its consequence is not instant and immediate, but takes a much longer time to appear. The seed needing to be planted, the soil to get fertilized, and the tree to grow before its fruit can ripen. By the time this whole process gets over, the past actions are totally erased from the memory, and the person is confused when he gets the fruit of his past actions. But be very sure that whatever you shall sow, so you shall reap. The same theory applies to the `Law of Karma'. When you sow a seed of Karma and whenever it yields the result and become the fruit, whether it is sweet or bitter, rest assured that you and you alone will have to eat it, whether you like it or not, and no one else will be able to eat it on your behalf, even if somebody volunteers to do so. Most of the people are under the mistaken impression that after doing one bad Karma and at the same time by doing another good Karma, they can mitigate the result of the bad Karma. If one does something bad to someone, he is sure to get it back, in the same manner, today or tomorrow, from that very person himself or by any other person. By the same token, if one does good to somebody, he is also going to benefit in a similar manner. Karma is not a bank account. You deposit Rs.5000/- today, withdraw Rs.3000/- and the balance is Rs.2000/-, so when you again deposit Rs.1000/-, it becomes Rs.3000/-. Karma theory is not adding and subtracting like a bank account. It is `tit for tat, blow for blow, help for help'. It is same like Newton's 3rd law, `Action and reaction are always equal and opposite'. In Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna has clearly declared about the Karma theory. He cautious, "Do the action but do not keep the desire of any fruit". He further asserts "Dedicate all the actions to Me". Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba also preaches the same, but with a little difference. He says, "By doing any action, you may have a desire, but that desire should be to find God and to realise and know that you are God". He further guides us by telling us that whatever work we are doing and in whatever capacity we are doing it, we should keep in mind, that it is an act of God, done for the sake of God, and dedicated to God, and whatever the results, are gladly acceptable to us. By feeling thus, we will not be bound by the cause and effect of the Karmic Law. Baba will take everything on Himself and set us free and help us to progress towards liberation. Baba has given us two paths by which we can cleanse our mind and make it subtle and pure, so that we are able to understand, the simple way to liberation. Baba tells us to do Namasmarana every day (singing the glory of the Lord) with pure and dedicated mind and to do Seva (service) to the poor and the needy, to the disabled and the crippled, to the sick and suffering, to the healthy and humble and to the good and the Godly people. This will illumine our mind, and we will be able to understand ourselves more clearly. Baba says that man has unlimited potentialities to realise and know himself. In one of the recent discourses on Ugadi day, He said, "Embodiment of love: You can not find in the entire Cosmos any place or object in which God is not present. The divine is present on the mountains. The divine dwells in villages and cities. The Divine is Omnipresent. Only those who recognise this truth can redeem their lives; they alone can achieve the goal of human existence. The powers of the Divine are limitless. Every living being in the world is governed by some limitations. Birds, beasts and insects are all taken care of by the Divine in respect of their essential needs like food and drink. Among all living beings, however, the life of human being is supreme as it is governed by morality and the good conduct. The Divine has placed some limitations on the physical powers of man but has set no limits to the mental powers. Man can achieve whatever he resolves to achieve. He can even realise God. This Divine power is only given to human beings. Ignorant of his limitless divine potentialities, man suffers from various disabilities by considering himself as human being. Man today is soaring in the sky as a bird and moving in the ocean like a fish. He has been able to land on the moon. But unfortunately he is not able to live like a true human being on earth. This is indeed a matter of shame. Man can accomplish anything if he surrenders to God. When he submits himself to the Will of the Divine, there is no task he cannot accomplish. Not realising the true nature of the Divine principle, man wastes his time on rituals and religious practices of various kinds. God cannot be realised through such practices. It is only by loving God and getting close to Him that one can realise one's aspiration. Swami does not disapprove of Sadhana practices. They are good activities for using time sacredly. But without service to Godly persons, they are of no use for realising freedom from the cycle of mundane existence. People aspire for liberation (Mukti). They have no idea what constitutes liberation. Man seeks liberation from the ills of the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the Anthakarana (internal motivator). All these are no doubt necessary. But liberation in the ultimate sense consists in liberation from the cycle of birth and death. This means that one should redeem one's present life so that one is free from rebirth. Men should pray to God for freedom from rebirth so that they will not have bodies which are bound to be afflicted with diseases. People have no clear idea of what Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (the four goals) mean. They think that Moksha (liberation) is something, which you attain after death. But, in fact, liberation can be attained here and now. Moksha means "Moha-Kshayam" the elimination of "Moha" (or attachment). People are not ready to give up attachment to wife, children, property etc., you have a duty to protect your family. But you must not be immersed in concerns about them. Realise that love is the most important quality in human life. It is not love for kith and kin that is precious. It is love for God that is more valuable". (Extracts taken from Sanathana Sarathi, April 1998) KARMA AND GRACE There are three types of Karma : Past, Present and Future. Present Karma must continue. It is like the carriage behind which is a trail of dust. If the carriage stops, the dust will settle on it. A doubt might be that the carriage cannot forever continue so as to be ahead of its dust. But the carriage need not always travel on a dusty road. It can get on the surface highway where there is no dust. The highway is equivalent to the Grace of God. There is a difference between the benefit of Grace and the benefit of the Bhakti, or devotion. A patient with pain is given a sedative, which dulls the pain. But Grace is an operation that does entirely away with pain. Make no mistake; Grace does entirely away with Karma. It is like a medicine which is labeled, `good until 1968'. If used in 1973, the medicine is entirely ineffective. The body is the bottle, the karma in the body is the medicine, God puts a date on the `medicine'; so it is not effective. (Taken form Sanathana Sarathi, April 1998) WHAT IS DEATH? The word `death' creates a fear psychosis, in the mind of human beings. You tell a person that such and such person has died; it will produce a wave of shock, in the mind of the listener. When death occurs in the family, it is announced in the papers `SAD DEMISE'. According to Author's own understanding, he explains death as follows: Death is re-union with God. Death is like changing clothes and wearing new clothes. Death is getting merged in God. Death is to achieve Eternity. Death is a realisation, that one is not the body, but the Atma (soul). Death is attaining a Blissful state (Sat-Chit-Ananda). Death is to break all the ties that bind, and be permanently released. Death is the only certainty. Death is understanding and experiencing the difference between the transient and the permanent. Anybody and everybody, who is born in this world, in any form, has to meet with death sooner or later. Hence, death should be accepted as boldly and cheerfully as we accept life. That will help us in eliminating the fear of death, which has held most of us so tightly in its grip that we can hardly breathe. In fact, any human being who has taken a birth in this world may not be re-born again, if he attains Moksha (Liberation) in this present life. But on the other hand, each and every human being, who is born in this world, is bound to die. So death is the only certainty. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, has taken this human form, to explain to the people and make them understand the secret of life and death, by proclaiming that each and every human being, irrespective of any caste, creed or colour, is the Atma (the Eternal soul) and not the body, He further explains that the Atma does not die. It is the body, which decays, and is declared dead, when the Atma leaves it. The Atma is neither born, nor does it die, it ever remains. On the other hand, the body, which is changeable, perishes and dies. Anything, which is changeable, is not real. Anything, which is permanent, is the truth. The Atma is permanent and Eternal. Baba further explains the reason, why a person is reborn and the Atma in his present body takes a new body. He says that Karma and desire are the cause of the rebirth of man. The Atma takes a new body for the sake of unfulfilled desires and in order to sort out the balance of one's Karmic effects or the deeds done in many previous lives. Until and unless man has sorted out all his Karmic effects, he cannot be liberated and be free from the cycle of birth and death. Baba says, "Man - Desire = God". Baba teaches us in many ways, how to control our desires and be desireless. He says, "The only desire one should have, is the desire to know himself - that is who am I? Where have I come from? Where have I to go? This will give one the self-realisation". Baba says that mind is the cause of all the desires, and the cause of the downfall of man. If one can learn the art of controlling the mind properly, rather than taming the mind, one has won half the battle. Unfulfilled desires give rise to anger, and anger boosts the ego in man, and then man loses himself. Many times, Baba calls the mind as `monkey-mind'. Baba says, "If you can make your mind a die-mind, you can also shine like a diamond. He even gives a therapy, how to make your mind a die-mind. He says, "If a person is really dead, does it bother him, if he is being garlanded, or is being beaten by chappals (Foot wear). He is not affected either way. Similarly, while you are alive, let your mind not get agitated or disturbed under any circumstances. Be calm and serene. Act like a `sooka Patta' (a dried leaf), which is being pushed this way or that way with every movement of the wind. This will enable you to be the master of your mind and the mind will stop dictating to you, instead it will start obeying you". Baba says, "Man's ego, desires, attachments and sense perception to the worldly objects, are the cause of man's bondage to the cycle of birth and death". A scientist created a scientific luxurious cage, with all the modern amenities, and put a number of mice, male and female inside the cage, but deliberately kept the door of the cage open. He also installed, two electrical gadgets, one of red colour and the other of green. The mice while playing, if they touched the green colour gadget, they got a piece of cheese, and if they touched the red gadget, they got a shock. The mice were very happy in the cage, dancing and playing and making merry, sometimes getting the cheese and other times getting the shock. Surprisingly in spite the door of the cage being open, none of the mice would attempt to get out of the cage, to freedom! The same is the fate of we human beings. We are so engrossed in our day-to-day routine involvements, that we accept both happiness and misery, but would not like to get out of this body prison to free ourselves in spite of the fact that Baba is here and He has kept the door open for us, to be liberated, yet we are clinging to our bodies, love life immensely and are afraid of death. How foolish of us! Baba has given us two simple methods of getting Moksha (Liberation) in this age of Kaliyuga. He says that Namasmarana (reciting the name of the Lord) and doing Seva (service) to the fellow beings (Manava Seva is Madhava Seva) will get us the required liberation, in this present life itself. Let us take advantage of Swami's assurance, and act as per His Will and Commandments and earn His Grace, to win our coveted goal, Moksha (Liberation), which is our sole purpose of being born as human beings. WHAT IS SOUL (ATMA)? Many people are perplexed when they try to fathom the meaning of the word `Soul' or `Atma'. They assure and presume the meaning, according to their own intellectual wavelength and remain contended and satisfied. The definition of the Soul or Atma is as follows: Soul = Spiritually Oriented Universal Light. Atma = Automatic Timely Moving Aspect. In truth, the Atma is that supernatural power (The Inertia) created by God with His Sankalpa (Will and Command), which always was, still remains, and will always be present. The Atma never perishes, nor it ever dies. It always remains because it is the Truth. It is God. Electricity is supplied from the power house to all the inanimate objects, all over the world, known as various gadgets, such as Ovens, Cookers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, Washing machines, Televisions, Theaters, Automobiles, Computers and many more such gadgets. Though the supply of the electricity is the same, yet the functions of each and every individual gadget are entirely different. In a similar manner, the Atma is the supernatural power or the energy created by God and supplied by God, not only to all the human beings all over the world but even to the birds, bees, plants, inanimate objects, planets and to the entire Universe. Without this Atmic power or energy, the entire Cosmos will come to a standstill, just as in the case of electricity, when the supply is cut off, nothing functions and there is chaos and turmoil all over. Now the difference between the electrical supply from the power house and the Atmic energy from the source of God is that the electricity is generated and produced through the human intellect and resources, and can also be destroyed through the human resources, like a sabotage operation or by waging a war. But the Atmic energy cannot be destroyed, unless God Himself as per His Will or Command withdraws it. Because Atma is God. Many people always quote and it is also firmly believed that, "Not even a leaf moves without the Will of God". Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba also confirms this statement, in His present human form. But people try to mis-interrupt the above statement and put the blame on God for everything they do whether good or the bad. God is only a witness to the circumstances. He is not the doer of all the actions committed by the human beings. The fact of the above statement is that the Atmic power, which is God who resides in our hearts, prompts us through His energy to act this way or that way. Without that energy, we will not be able to perform any action but will be like a dead log. So, Atmic energy is the Will of God, and not the actions deliberately done by the human beings could be considered as the Will of God. This illusion is the cause of the greatest error on the part of the human beings. God is Love. God cannot hurt anybody or harm anyone. God is Caring, Consoling and Healer of the all the wounds. How can He ever be revengeful? It is a bad and vicious judgment on the part of the human beings to hold God responsible for all their deeds and actions. The most oft-used question of all the human beings today is, "Why God created this Universe, with all the misery, agony, hatred and confusion?" The answer is, "God never Willed it this way. It is we human beings, who are the cause of all this turmoil in this beautiful creation of the Loving God, who is so Compassionate and Perfect". As the story goes. God was all alone and He felt the urge of loving Himself. He could not do it single-handed. If one wants to express love or experience love, one needs at least two people. So God said, "Let Me become many". This He did in order to experience to love Himself. As per His Will He became many. Then He thought of the pleasure and comfort of so many people created by Him. So He created the entire Universe, with the intention to provide all the comforts and happiness to them, because everybody was Him and Love was the Source. He then implanted the secret knowledge in the mind of human beings, to enable them to come back to Him, as and when they so desired. Along with this true knowledge He also gave them a little of free will, to enable them to know and understand the purpose of their creation and ultimately to go back to the final source that is Him. The human beings used this little free will for their own benefit and physical comforts and got themselves so entangled in the graph, they themselves planted around them that they forgot the way back to their true home land and are wandering hither and thither aimlessly and are constantly blaming God for taking their memory away as they are not able to find the way to their true home land. The Merciful God is now caught up, in His own plight of creating this wonderful Universe, which has now become a vicious circle. He even cannot undo now what He has already Willed to do. But still out of His own Compassion, He has been kind and generous enough to take this human body as Sri Sathya Sai Baba and is doing His utmost to revive the memory of all the human beings after entire world and is personally guiding them and showing them the way to reach their true destinations, the aboard of Eternal Peace that is Bhagawan Baba Himself. He says, "As you eat nourishing food to sustain your body and keep it healthy, so that you can enjoy life, you must also give proper food to your Soul (Atma) to remain fit and trim and that food for the Soul (Atma) is doing Namasmarana (Singing the glory of the Lord through the Chanting of the Bhajans) every day. This will sustain your Soul (Atma) and keep it healthy". He further says that it is only through the healthy body and the purified Soul (Atma) that you can reach your destination - that is you can get Moksha (Liberation). Let us all resolve today and put an effort to lead our lives and move to the path as shown by Bhagawan Baba, so that we all the individual Atma can get merged with Parmatma (The Power House of all the Atma). I cannot refrain but to mention here a small story about the Love and Compassion of the Lord, which I read somewhere, and cannot get, it erased from my memory. There was a man who always believed in God. Since the very young age, he trusted God, and was sure that God was all the time moving along with him walking, talking and guiding him all the time. When he became old, he tried to recollect all his past thoughts. He saw a vast forest and could always see the two pairs of footsteps imprinted on the sand of the forest; only to find out that act the fag end of his life, when he was passing through a desperate situation of his life, he could notice only one pair of footsteps on the sand. He then cried and prayed to God and said how can He the all Merciful Lord leave him alone when he needed Him the most. There came the reply from the God, "Oh, my dear precious child, when you see the one pair of footsteps on the sand they are my footsteps because during that period of time, you were so exhausted that I was carrying you in my lap". This consoled the man and tears came to his eyes. Let us also learn to cry for the mercy of the Lord. We cry for so many things in life; whenever desires are not satisfied, or when something we want, we do not receive. But have we ever cried for the God Himself? Cry for the Love of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Tell Him that your eyes are yearning to see Him, and to have His Darshan. Cry out to Him that you cannot live without Him. And see the Miracle of all the Miracles to happen. Collectiontios from Sai literatures
